The weather had improved dramatically yesterday. The interesting thing is that the town didn’t look so run down in the clear skies. The bright colours of the buildings came through more brightly and some of the faults of the town seemed to fade away in the light. Amazing the difference sunlight makes!
We had another walk around the town before heading out. Halifax is only about an hour away from Lunenberg and so the plan was to take a slow drive along the coast and through some of the other recommended towns on the way back to Halifax. The first place was Mahone Bay. We did the extensive walk through the town and into a few of the stores in the town as well. Again a very prett town with lovely views over the bay but we all concurred that Lunenberg was a better place for us to have stayed.
We then headed on to Peggy’s Cove where the plan was to have lunch before finally heading into Halifax. Peggy’s Cove has 35 residents in the summer which drops to 30 residents in the winter. However it gets 700 000 visitors a year. That has to be the epitome of tourist town! It is known for it’s lighthouse and its treacherous seas. What I didn’t know was that it is the nearest place to where Swissair Flight 111 crashed in 1998. The flight was traveling from NYC to Geneva and a fire started in the cockpit which eventually consumed all the electrics on the plane and caused the crash. There are two memorials in the area to the 229 people who died in the crash.
We had lunch (Grilled Haddock x 2, Lobster Mac & Cheese & Halibut tacos) at the restaurant which really was well positioned with almost 360 degree views of the Peggy’s Cove and out to sea. You did definitely get the feeling of ruggedness of the ocean in this area and you can see the necessity to have a lighthouse. There are also warning signs all over to be careful of the waves which can suddenly increase and break dangerously near you. every year numerous people are washed off the rocks and drown – the last person that drowned was in April this year. There was also a man playing an Alphorn on the rocks. Not sure if that is in commemoration of the Swissair flight or what but it did add to the atmosphere of the place!
After lunch we headed into Halifax but as check in time at our AirBnB was only 4pm we had to kill a little time which we did at the local mall. A quick grocery shop for dinner & breakfast and then off to do the check in to our apartment for the next 2 nights. We are staying in a 2-bedroom apartment in Halifax which is situated on the 25th floor with extensive views. The decor in the apartment is somewhat strange though. It is filled (and yes I mean filled) with old electronics. As I type this now I am looking at 10 old TVs (think really old), old game consoles, old radio/tape deck combos. They have a working Super Nintendo which was made in 1991 before S & K were even born. I remember playing tennis (which is what S&K played) on it when I was at varsity!
It was nice making our own dinner and not having to eat at a restaurant again (as nice as eating out is). S cooked for us – we had pork chops and salad. The pork chops were really juicy, tender & tasty. N.Americans seem to know how to do pork – I have always found the pork to be really good here. We all headed to bed at a reasonable time – it seems we are over any form of jetlag.
Until tomorrow (or later today depending how I feel) …
P, S (for cooking), H & K